A French Intelligence Agent becomes embroiled in the Cold War politics first with uncovering the events leading up to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and then back to France to break up an international Russian spy ring.

Storyline

Marnie Edgar is a habitual liar and a thief who gets jobs as a secretary and after a few months robs the firms in question, usually of several thousand dollars. When she gets a job at Rutland's, she also catches the eye of the handsome owner, Mark Rutland. He prevents her from stealing and running off, as is her usual pattern, but also forces her to marry him. Their honeymoon is a disaster and she cannot stand to have a man touch her, and on their return home, Mark has a private detective look into her past. When he has the details of what happened in her childhood to make her what she is, he arranges a confrontation with her mother realizing that reliving the terrible events that occurred in her childhood and bringing out those repressed memories is the only way to save her.Written by
garykmcd

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Sir Alfred Hitchcock was reluctant to use a mechanical horse to film the shots of Marnie riding, but sent a crew member to inspect a mechanical horse owned by Disney that was supposed to be the best in existence. Walt Disney spotted the crew member on the Disney lot and personally offered to let Hitchcock use it, which he did. See more »

Goofs

When Marnie is riding the horse toward the wall, at one point the projected background is stuck and motionless whilst the horse is galloping. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Sidney Strutt:
Robbed! Cleaned out! $9,967! Precisely as I told you over the telephone. And that girl did it. Marion Holland. That's the girl. Marion Holland.
First Detective:
Can you describe her, Mr. Strutt?
Sidney Strutt:
Certainly I can describe her: five feet five, 110 pounds, size 8 dress, blue eyes, black wavy hair, even features, good teeth.
[detectives unable to restrain laughter]
Sidney Strutt:
Well what's so damn funny? There's been a grand larceny committed on these premises.
See more »

Alternate Versions

Dialogue in the final scene reveals that Marnie's mother had given up her virginity at 15 to Marnie's father in exchange for a sweater. Just before the film's release the studio had second thoughts about this part, and Alfred Hitchcock agreed to cut the lines. But hundreds of prints had already been made, and rather than incur the cost of reprinting the final reel of each, the studio released them as they were, so there were two versions of the film from the outset. See more »

User Reviews

Compelling and charming Hitchcock film in which there is intrigue , luxurious scenarios , suspense , twists and turns . Marnie (Tippie Hedren) is a lovely blonde with a mysterious past ; she is a habitual thief and has serious psychological problems . Marnie isn't at all what she appears , has amnesia and having panic to red color ; then her employer falls in love for her and determined to understand her illness he uncovers his previous life . Later on , Mark (Sean Connery) marries Marnie and attempts to find out what makes her tick . As Mark tries to help her to confront and resolve troubles .

This unsung and really criticized movie at the time of its release contains thrills , tension , suspense , psychoanalysis , romance, unlimited excitement and plenty of plot twists , as usual in Hitchock films . An exceptional Hitchcock film dealing with an exciting intrigue blended with sexual and Freudian theories . Besides , it has a literately witty dialog with distinctive Hitch's touches and writing credits by Jay Presson Allen . Nice acting by the great Sean Connery as current boss who catches Marnie in the theft act and forces her to marry him , though he soon learns the puzzling aspects of Marnie's background . Alfred Hitchcock and screenwriter Jay Presson Allen were allowed to see scenes from Agent 007 and doctor No (1962) when considering Sean Connery for the role of Mark . They liked his charismatic performance so much that they decided to offer him the role even though the obviously Scottish actor did not really fit with their conception of Mark as an "American aristocrat." Tippi Hedren is pretty well as confuse amnesic thief who robs her employers and then changes her identity . Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren had a major falling-out during the filming and there was a rumor that by the end he directed her through intermediaries . Although Hedren admits the she and Hitchcock's friendship ended during shooting, she denies the rumor that he didn't finish directing the film . Despite the troubles which reportedly took place on set , Tippi Hedren has stated that this is her favorite movie which she has appeared in . Alfred Hitchcock wanted Grace Kelly to make her screen comeback in the title role, but the people of Monaco were not happy with the idea of their princess playing a compulsive thief . Good secondary cast such as Diane Baker as his scheming sister-in-law , Martin Gabel , the tall Alan Napier and Louise Latham, who played Tippi Hedren's mother is in reality only 8 years older. Look for in small characters , almost cameos , to Bruce Dern , Kimberly Beck , Meredith Scott Thomas , Linden Chiles and Mariette Hartley . And , of course , Alfred Hitchcock cameo : Five minutes into the film, in the hotel corridor as Marnie walks by . Colorful as well as glamorous cinematography by Robert Burks , Hitch's habitual . Rousing and intriguing original music by the great Bernard Herrmann , though it was Bernard Herrmann's last score for a Hitchcock film .

Rating : Better than average . Panned at the time of its release and was deemed a misfire ; despite the poor reviews, Marnie turned out to be a moderate box office success for Universal , it grossed $7 million in theatres on a budget of $3 million . The film has since been accepted as an Alfred Hitchcock classic , though resulting to be overlong and confusing as well . Essential and indispensable seeing for Hitch buffs .

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